


Sharks Are Friends

by a_quick_drink



Series: Shark Bites [3]
Category: Band of Brothers, The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Friendship, M/M, Rivalry, Sharks, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 23:50:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11092503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_quick_drink/pseuds/a_quick_drink
Summary: Web discovers sharks aren't the only ones who are misunderstood when he's tricked into sharing his whale shark watching expedition with rival author Leckie.





	Sharks Are Friends

"This is ridiculous," Leckie groused as he tugged the floppy brim of his hat to block the sun. "A complete and utter waste of time I could be using to write."

Web leaned over the side of their little inflatable boat and dragged a hand through the glassy blue water. "Guess I'm doing the world a favor then." While this excursion was research for his own writing, he would've much preferred coming out here alone, with the sound of the wind and waves to keep him company instead of his annoying rival. He would throttle Joe for this later.

"At least people read my books," Leckie threw back.

Web ground his teeth. His glory days of making bestseller lists were gone the moment he switched from writing war memoirs and fiction to advocating for the ocean's most misunderstood predator. His agent had warned him against it, saying his loyal readers weren't _that_ loyal, but he hadn't cared because sharks were his passion--if his book could change the mind of just one person, then it was worth the effort.

The book had inevitably flopped like a fish on land while Leckie again made bank off his latest cut-and-paste mystery. The reality hadn't sat well with Web, but he refused to give up. What he needed to do was write something better, something with an adventure component his fans would gobble up and a human component they could connect with. Maybe then he could get his message across to a wider audience. And trounce Leckie with his "boring fish book".

"You should use this experience for your next book: The Man Who Was Murdered at Sea," Web said with a flourish of his hand, flicking water at Leckie's face.

"And what should I tell Joe were your last words?"

"I fucking hate you," Web grumbled.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your boyfriend, but o--" Leckie squawked in surprise when Web threw a notebook at him. He easily batted it away and flashed Web a toothy grin.

Leaning over the side again, Web stared at the water, hoping to see something even if it wasn't the whale shark sighting he'd come all the way out here for. Seeing nothing but a jellyfish float by, he shielded his eyes with a hand and stared at the shoreline in the distance. Somewhere on that narrow strip of sand, Joe and Bill were no doubt sipping ice-cold beers under the shade of palm trees while they congratulated themselves on the success of what Web now realized was a total set-up.

Web frowned. He'd been looking forward to a romantic vacation alone with Joe, which he'd gotten for a couple days. Then--imagine that!--they'd bumped into Leckie and Smith at a bar on Isla Holbox and suddenly plans for two turned into plans for four. Despite his disappointment, though, Web kept his mouth shut. Living on opposite sides of the country meant Joe rarely got to see his friend, and who was Web to deny him such an opportunity? It had turned out to be fun, but they were definitely having words about this later because there was no way this was all just some crazy coincidence.

Leckie leaned back and sprawled out. "So how much longer are we going to be out here anyway?" he asked, tipping his hat forward to cover his eyes. Web shoved his foot away and returned his gaze to the water.

"I don't know, until I see a shark? You're welcome to swim back anytime you want."

A smirk twisted Leckie's lips. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Web didn't answer. To be honest--and he would never admit it it loud--he was enjoying the company. Joe originally would've joined him on this little expedition into unknown waters, but back home Web always went out alone. While he sometimes looked for the juvenile white sharks that frequented the California coastline, most of the time he simply went out to escape the noise of the city and give them a break from each other for a little while.

They bobbed among the gentle waves in silence for several long minutes before Leckie spoke up. "Thanks for not tossing me overboard, by the way."

"Well I wouldn't want all your flailing to attract the wrong kind of sharks."

That made Leckie sit up. "Would that really happen?"

Web snorted. "Not unless I gave you a bloody nose first. Sharks aren't interested in humans, although I wouldn't want to swim out here without being able to look down--too easy for an aggressive one like a great white to sneak up on you."

Leckie's jaw dropped. "There's great whites out here and we're in this tiny boat?"

"We're fine. It's uncommon for them to attack boats anyway," Web said as he pressed his lips together to suppress a smile. "Although there have been reports of ones tipping kayaks and jumping into boats. Great white behavior is really fascinating."

Leckie muttered something under his breath as he scooted away from the side of the boat, making Web burst into laughter. The glare Leckie shot him only made him laugh harder. The day was looking up after all.

When Web finally caught his breath, he wiped away a tear before turning his attention back to the water. He'd be disappointed if he didn't spot any whale sharks, but rattling Leckie was a good enough consolation prize.

A splash in the distance drew Web's attention. Heart pounding, he snatched up the binoculars at his side and searched the miles of water for the source. A dorsal fin poked through the surface, revealing a sliver of patterned skin that made his breath catch in his throat. "There!" he crowed, pointing and shoving the binoculars into Leckie's hands.

"I don't see-- Oh, wow." There were several more similar splashes and more dorsal fins. "What are they doing?"

"Feeding," Web answered. He let Leckie watch for another minute before he grabbed the binoculars back. "Plankton comes to the surface on clear days and the sharks follow."

"'The ocean is a contradiction of incomprehensible dangers and beauty bordering on sublime, filled with creatures that inspire both fear and wonder in the hearts of terrestrials who perceive it as an alien world in their own backyard instead of safely light years away.'"

Web nearly dropped the binoculars into the water. "You read my book?"

"Of course I read it--I read all your books. Can't mock you if I don't know what I'm talking about," Leckie teased.

Web didn't have a retort. It had never occurred to him Leckie read any of his work, let alone all of it, and any mentions were cherry-picked from whatever few pages he'd skimmed and passed hasty judgement upon. Web didn't know how to take that, or what to do with it.

"I mean, it's not your best work from a technical standpoint. But it has a certain... _je ne sais quoi_ not found in any of your other work."

" _Je ne sais quois_ , huh? Probably why hardly anyone read it," Web muttered.

"No, that's because people don't care about sharks, not like you do. Hell, I didn't care about them either until I read that." Leckie folded his arms on the side of the boat and watched the gentle giants lunching in the distance. "It's like you understand all this on a level no one else does. The ocean speaks to you."

The compliment stunned Web into silence. Despite their rivalry, Web always understood what others found so appealing in Leckie. The charm wasn't an act or a tool to get what he wanted (though it certainly helped), but who Leckie really was. Granted, he was also a cocky and competitive asshole, which brought out the same in Web, so they'd been at each other's throats from out of the gate. Had they not initially published in the same genre he bet they would've already been friends.

"So what do you say we call a truce already?" Leckie asked suddenly.

"Only if we can keep it from Joe and Bill for awhile so they don't think they were super clever orchestrating this."

Leckie grinned at that and nodded. "For a pretentious nerd you're all right, you know that, Web?" he said with a wink.

Web snorted and passed Leckie the binoculars. "As far as insufferable assholes go, you're alright too."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed this story, please take a moment to leave a kudos and/or comment. The support is greatly appreciated. :)


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